Date: Mon, 8 Apr 96 13:44:48 EDT From: "James D. Anderson" Subject: More Light Update May 1996 MORE LIGHT UPDATE May 1996 Volume 16, Number 10 Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns James D. Anderson, Communications Secretary P.O. 38 New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038 908-249-1016, 908-932-7501 (Rutgers University) FAX 908-932-6916 (Rutgers University) Internet: jda@mariner.rutgers.edu (or jda@scils.rutgers.edu) PLGC-List: plgc-list@andrew.cmu.edu PLGC home page: http://www.epp.cmu.edu/~riley/PLGC.html Masthead, with Publication Information at end of file. Note: * is used to indicate italicized or boldface text. CONTENTS RESEARCH Homophobic Therapies: Documenting the Damage PEOPLE CHURCHES First United Church of Oak Park, IL Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, of Cincinnati, Ohio EVENTS Midwest PLGC Conference Get Rave Reviews Walking on Water and Making Waves Our Sensational God A Safe Haven for Creative Expression Metaphor of the Quilt THIS MONTH'S FEATURE ARTICLES Red Desert Assembly, by Chris Glaser Lessons from New Zealand: Excerpts from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand's **Report of the Special Committee to Explore Issues Regarding Homosexuality and the Church, to the 1995 General Assembly** BOOKS TO WATCH OUT FOR Unrepentant, Self-Affirming, Practicing: Lesbian/Bisexual/ Gay People within Organized Religion, by Gary D. Comstock We Were Baptized Too: A Review and a Foreward Caught in the Crossfire Time to Vote PLGC Is Your Ministry Membership Application/Renewal Form for 1996 1996 PLGC Ballot PLGC Officers and Contacts (at end of file) Masthead (publication information) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * RESEARCH Homophobic Therapies: Documenting the Damage The National Lesbian & Gay Health Association is sponsoring an investigation of the outcomes of so-called treatments of the so- called disorder of homosexuality. Here's their press release: Did you know that counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists still attempt to treat **homosexuality** as a **disorder**? Did you know that currently there is an organized association of psychologists/psychiatrists who meet yearly to develop new **"conversion treatments"** for homosexuality? Did you know that countless "gay recovery" programs exist through the United States, yet these programs refuse to publish their data on treatment outcomes? We are currently attempting to research the outcomes of these co-called treatments of the so-called disorder of homosexuality. Our purpose is to document the damage which we believe occurs when a gay or lesbian client encounters "psychological help" from a homophobic treatment program or provider. Despite the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association's stance that homosexuality is *not* a disorder, there continue to be professionals and organizations who foster the belief that homosexuality is a learned and reparable emotional illness. You can help make this research possible. If you know of any individuals who have experienced such a program and are willing to talk about it anonymously and confidentially, please refer them to our project. We can interview them either in person or by telephone. You can be of help in the long process of getting the message out that these "conversion" therapies don't work and do the opposite of healing *by informing your lesbian/gay/bi communities of our search for participants to be interviewed.* Please announce our project in any upcoming lesbian and gay community meetings and spread the word. **Help Us Document the Damage!** -- Drs. Michael Schroeder & Ariel Shidlo, Co-Researchers, 412 6th Ave., Suite 602, New York, NY 10011, 212-353-2558, gayconvert@aol.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PEOPLE Eleanor Green, our co-coordinator for the Synod of the Trinity in Lancaster, PA, has a new zip code: 17607-6296. Please make this change. PLGC has two new coordinators for the Synod of the Sun: Greg Adams, 314 Steven Dr., Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-224-4724; John P. McNeese, P.O. Box 54606, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1606, 405-848- 2819, 405-232-6991 wk. YES, THE PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT WAS IN OUR APRIL ELECTRONIC UPDATE, THIS ONE HAS CORRECTED ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OF JOHN McNEESE IN OKLAHOMA CITY! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CHURCHES First United Church of Oak Park, a joint Presbyterian-United Church of Christ congregation, has joined the ranks of More Light Churches. They have also become an "Open and Affirming Congregation" in the UCC. Here are excerpts from their resolution on "Becoming a More Inclusive Church": "We confess that the institutional church has often judged, alienated and excluded from the community of faith gay, lesbian and bisexual persons, or has been complicit by its silence." "We agree to celebrate, support and honor commitment ceremonies of homosexual people, recognizing the difficulty of maintaining such partnerships in the absence of the social validations, role models and legal frameworks that support heterosexual marriages." Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, of Cincinnati, Ohio, celebrates the dismissal of the Presbytery Administrative Commission that had been established in 1992 to inquire into and "resolve the delinquency" of Mount Auburn's More Light inclusive policy and practice. The Commission concluded that *nothing* could or should be done to Mount Auburn Church until the General Assembly clearly resolves "the Constitutional discrepancies" that are apparent in its anti-gay policies. The Commission declared that Mount Auburn is a vital, growing, and unified congregation, dedicated to being an inclusive church; they did not want to jeopardize Mount Auburn's vibrant ministry. -- Based on a letter from Hal Porter, Pastor. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EVENTS Midwest PLGC Conference Get Rave Reviews [This great stuff didn't make it into the print version!] Rave reviews are coming in from the recent Midwest PLGC Conference, organized by our Central Indiana chapter. Here's a sample: "When you encouraged me to attend the PLGC Midwest Conference, you neglected to tell me how much FUN it would be. Aside from the humor, it was just great being with a whole room of real Christians. Why, we even prayed for the leadership of the Presbyterian Lay Committee. I wager that the opposite is not true." -- RG Another participant reports: "Chris Glaser was the featured speaker and his sermon on Sunday morning as well as his address on Friday night were so-o-o-o inspiring. ... How refreshing it is to be among folks who are Presbyterians and are understanding about being lesbian or gay. No need to qualify conversation or explain oneself." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Walking on Water and Making Waves Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus, Biennial Conference, August 1-4, 1996, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA. Speakers include Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author of *Sensuous Spirituality; Women, Men, and the Bible;* and co-author of *Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?* For information, write to EEWC '96 Conference, 1053 Cambridge Crescent, Norfolk, VA 23508, or call 804-451-8553. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Our Sensational God A retreat for Lesbians, Gaymen, Bisexual and the Transgendered and our Families, Friends and Advocates, October 31-Nov. 3, 1996 at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico. $250. Within a Christian context, how do we glorify God with enjoyment and pleasure in this world? Through presentations, mutual sharing and spiritual exercises, come explore this question and glory in the beauty of Ghost Ranch. 505-685-4333. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A Safe Haven for Creative Expression A week of learning and creativity designed for people whose lives have been changed by AIDS, November 3-9, 1996, Plaza Resolana, Santa Fe, New Mexico, $425. For people who are HIV+, and those with AIDS, their families, friends and care givers. Participants will select a workshop to focus on the written word or mixed media art as a means of creative expression. Workshop 1, Spiritual Biography, will use daily writing exercises to help you find your voice to tell your story. Workshop 2, Mixed Media Art, will use hands on exploration in a variety of media -- mask making, fabric dying and water color. 1-800-821-5145. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Metaphor of the Quilt PAN, the Presbyterian AIDS Network, will sponsor a dramatic presentation at General Assembly in Albuquerque on Tuesday, July 2, 7 p.m. at the Kiva Theater in the Convention Center. A Santa Fe Theater Group will present "Metaphor of the Quilt," piecing together the words of pioneer quilting women with words taken from the Names Project AIDS Quilt. Proceeds will benefit the New Mexico AIDS Coalition. Order tickets ($5.00) in advance from the Office of the General Assembly (on your G.A. registration form) or by calling 1-800-210-9371, option 2. Tickets will also be available at the performance. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * THIS MONTH'S FEATURE ARTICLES Red Desert Assembly by Chris Glaser [Copyright (c) 1996 by Chris R. Glaser. All rights reserved. Permission granted for non-profit use and duplication.] Once upon a time, the Presbytribe called its elders to gather in the Red Desert. As their ancestors annually assembled, so these tribesfolk came from east and west, north and south, hoping for the Sacred Word to reveal itself in the midst of their dialogue. The Sacred Word had shown itself before, in a variety of manifestations: as light, as wind, as fire, as cloud, as angel, as voice, as wisdom, as beast, as human, as proclamation, as water, as bread, as wine. Each appearance of the Sacred Word caused transformation: ordering chaos, releasing captives, lifting burdens, opening communities. The Sacred Word would pass through its people, leaving Grace as its residue. Grace's components of mercy and justice and love were usually misunderstood by the culture it attempted to transform. The Sacred Word itself had many times been scorned and ridiculed, judged and crucified. The Presbytribe had historically devoted much time and energy and skill toward analyzing and institutionalizing the manifestations of the Sacred Word of times past. With study, the members of the tribe thought they could dissect previous manifestations to examine the Sacred Word's parts and discover the mechanics within it. They called this enterprise Theology. With organization, the members of the tribe tried to preserve previous manifestations, containing the experiences to re-live them at will. This they called Church. Both Theology and Church grew from their deep longing for a personal experience of the Sacred Word. Central to both Theology and Church was their Scripture, which included a canon of holy writings as well as historical interpretations of those writings. Yet no matter how many words were written in these scriptures, they neither adequately explained nor entirely contained the Sacred Word. It was as if the Sacred Word included all words in the universe, yet paradoxically, was qualitatively greater than their aggregate. Faced with this dilemma, there were members of the Presbytribe who read the scriptures literally and others who read them metaphorically. Those who read the scriptures literally feared distortions and misapplications of **past** encounters with the Sacred Word. Those who read the scriptures metaphorically feared restrictions and inhibitions of **present** and **future** encounters with the Sacred Word. Most members of the Presbytribe, however, found themselves somewhere between these two positions on the holy writings, along a spectrum that united both extremes. Now it happened that an unholy spirit moved over the Presbytribe and possessed some members to insist on one way to read Scripture. These people, called Presbylays, attempted to split the spectrum that held the Presbytribe together -- indeed, to lift up one extreme of the spectrum as righteous alone. The Presbylays attacked the unity of the tribe by singling out individuals and groups within the Presbytribe for assault. One such group were the Presbygays, also known as the Lesbigays, who, because they were the victims of much ignorance and denial in the Presbytribe, were easy targets for denunciation by the Presbylays. The Presbygays had often served as shamans, or spiritual leaders, of the Presbytribe. Without knowing it, other members of the Presbytribe had often sought them out for spiritual counsel, emotional support, creative wisdom, and material resources. For generations, the Presbygays had held their identity a secret. But now they openly gathered under a rainbow flag and gladly affiliated with Lesbigays, a tribe that transcended all tribes. The broader culture, of which the Presbytribe proved no exception, did not approve of Lesbigay love. It did not conform to the culture's preconception of love, much as the Sacred Word's gracious love never squared with the worldly vision of the way things ought to be. Presbygays and many others in the Presbytribe came to see a manifestation of the Sacred Word in the Lesbigay movement. A holy spirit frocked in a rainbow-colored stole moved over the Presbygay camp, yet seeing it required eyes of faith, much as other resurrections of the Sacred Word. Now, in the Red Desert, the Presbytribe had to discern the spirit that most reflected the Sacred Word, that of the Presbylays or of the Presbygays. Three temptations awaited them. The first was the temptation of survival. Pointing to the convenience of the many stones on the desert floor, the Tempter of the desert said, "Take these rocks and stone the Presbygays, and you won't have to worry about the Presbytribe losing members." But the Sacred Word argued, "A tribe which only seeks to save its life will lose it. Come, risk your life to follow me." The second was the temptation of authority. Showing the tribe the latest opinion polls demonstrating the desire for fixed answers, the Tempter of the desert spoke sternly, "If Scripture is to have any authority, we must elevate one way to interpret it, a literal way." But the Sacred Word responded, "You have heard what was said of old, but I have said to you many things that do not conform to ancient interpretations of Scripture. Come, follow me as I lead you to further truth." The third was the temptation of power. Taking the elders to a high mountain from which they could see many of the highest steeples of the land, the Tempter of the desert offered, "See all the wealth and influence of the Presbylays? These will be yours if only you excommunicate the Presbygays. If you don't condemn them, this wealth and influence will be withheld." But the Sacred Word admonished the Presbytribe, "Go and sell what you have and give to the poor and the aggrieved and come, follow me." Then the outgoing high priestess of the Presbytribe spoke to the gathering, saying bluntly, "It is expedient that Presbygays die from our midst for the sake of our mission!" But others said, "What then is our mission, if it means that any category of our tribe is expendable?" And one among them, a candidate for high priest, spoke up: "Fellow members of the Presbytribe, consider carefully what you propose to do to these Presbygays. If their cause is merely human, it will fail; but if it is of the Sacred Word, you will not be able to withstand them -- in that case you may even be found fighting against the Sacred Word!" Other members of the Presbytribe affirmed, "Look! They went through the same initiation of baptism as we did. They have the same gifts of the Sacred Word that we have. Many of them have already blessed us as spiritual guides. How can we withhold the laying on of hands that blesses their leadership among us?" And finally, the Sacred Word, as a voice crying in the Red Desert, wept and wailed, "My tribe shall be called a tribe for all peoples, but you have made it a den of elitists. Oh, my dearly-beloved Presbytribe, you who kill the prophets and stone those whom I send you. How often I have desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the One who elects us all in the name of Grace.'" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lessons from New Zealand *We quote excerpts from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand's **Report of the Special Committee to Explore Issues Regarding Homosexuality and the Church, to the 1995 General Assembly**. Just because Presbyterians there have yet to adopt these sensible suggestions does nothing to detract from their value for us!* -- JDA Recommendations 1. That this Assembly declare that those of homosexual orientation are to be received as full members of the church on the same basis as anyone else. 2. That this Assembly acknowledge the diversity of viewpoint within the church on issues related to homosexuality, and in the light of that diversity, this Assembly revolve to take no steps to enact regulations in regard to homosexual people in positions of leadership. ... Report A. Introduction ... There are different views in the committee as there are in the church on many of the issues. We do not apologise for this diversity in the committee. On the contrary, it has enriched our fellowship and deepened our discussion. Our committee has been strengthened by our diversity. Nor, we believe, should the church feel shame about or apologise for its diversity of conviction on the matters before us. The process of discerning the will of God can be lengthy. We need sincere humility, honest dialogue, and continuing prayer. B. Holy Scripture Most responses we have received have quoted or referred to the Bible. But the conclusions drawn vary widely. This has not surprised the committee. It is well known that there have long been quite basic differences within the church in understanding the nature of Holy Scripture, in the ways in which it is interpreted, and in the meaning given by different people to the *Book of Order* phrase *the Word of god, contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,* which is stated to be *the supreme rule of faith and duty, and the supreme standard of this Church.* It is beyond the scope and the competence of this committee to pursue this matter further. We note it as a significant factor in the correspondence we have received. We have observed that those who tend to a literal interpretation of biblical commands are accused by others of being highly selective in what they choose to quote; those who cannot accept a literal understanding are accused of manipulating and misinterpreting passages from the Bible to support the beliefs they already hold. There are profound differences here that have been with us for a long time. We cannot solve the difficulty, but we do need honestly to acknowledge that it exists. C. What we can say together. In the matter of Christian beliefs regarding sexual matters, there is a great deal that we can say together: 1. We affirm that sexuality is a fundamental aspect of human behaviour. It is a part of our created nature which is a cherishable gift of God. 2. We affirm that marriage is a gift of God through which Christians make covenant with one another and with God. We affirm that in marriage, a man and a woman give themselves to each other in the full intention for intimacy, companionship, and friendship, in a life-long, loving, faithful, monogamous relationship. The marriage is made by their mutual covenant of love, the church providing the vehicle in which their covenant is publicly recognized, affirmed, and celebrated. Thus a stable environment is provided into which children are born, and in which they are nurtured. The church is called to emphasise and work for the essential values in marriage and family that contribute to wholeness of persons, and to challenge values and attitudes that limit and degrade personal worth. 3. We recognise the commitment that is present in many relationships other than Christian marriage, and we recognise that relationships of commitment, including marriage, are best characterised by mutuality, equality, respect, forgiveness, spontaneity, and passion; we reject exploitation and violence and mere self-gratification in any relationship. 4. We recognise that there is a wide diversity in sexuality, and people can at different times find themselves at different points on this spectrum: this is a fact of their being and not a matter of moral judgement. We assert that the pastoral task of the church is to encourage people to become what they may be in the light and wonder of God's acceptance of us all. That acceptance is clearly seen in Jesus Christ's attitude to all whom he met. 5. We affirm that membership in the church (and there is no higher office) will be open to those of homosexual orientation on the same basis as everyone else. That basis, in accordance with long Presbyterian tradition, is contained in the simple questions addressed to new members at the time of their profession of faith. 6. We know about sin, which distorts the lives of us all, and is not evidenced in a greater degree in the lives of those of homosexual orientation than in others. The Reformation sought to recover this sense of sin and rejected the prioritising of sins. Therefore, in sin, as in God's love for us, we stand on level ground. 7. We discover that what determines sexual orientation is yet to be ascertained. However, it is evident that there is a very complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors that determine an individual's sexual orientation. The conclusion we come to is that to pursue the hows and whys of sexual orientation is not particularly relevant or helpful to discussion of this issue. All sides could well adopt a suitably humble stance in debates on this subject. 8. We recognise that one legitimate and honoured response to God's call is chosen celibacy and chaste singleness; we recognise also that that response should not be a requirement laid on a person by the church. D. The people most affected ... We have met with gay and lesbian Christians. Some of the conversation we have had has been at a deep level. The members of the committee most involved have been humbled, moved, and enriched through their contact with fine, dedicated, deeply spiritual women and men, active in the life of our congregations, notwithstanding the deep hurts and rejection they tell us they have experienced in the church because of their sexual orientation. Their great longing is to be seen and accepted by their fellow members of the church primarily as people. They are sick with weariness at people treating them as if the most important thing about them were their sexuality, and not their humanity. It is these fellow-believers, our sisters and brothers in the body of Christ, who stand to be most deeply and intimately affected by whatever decision the Assembly may make. The committee is aware that gay and lesbian people have great gifts that they wish to offer to the church, and some of these gifts have been born of the trauma and struggle that they have experienced. Amid the different and confusing messages they receive from their church, gay and lesbian people and their families have special need of sensitive and understanding pastoral ministry. This is especially true of young Christian people struggling to recognise and come to terms with their orientation. It has been urged on us that the known presence of gay and lesbian people in the church would be of significant help to them. E. Dialogue for understanding Discussion of questions relating to homosexuality are still clouded by embarrassment, fear, ignorance, misinformation, myths, and misunderstandings. Our experience as a committee is that understanding cannot come from preconceptions, or from arguments from entrenched positions, but only from an openness to what others are saying and to the Spirit's leading. Someone in one of the Assembly dialogue groups said that there is a large gulf between those who have engaged in dialogue and those who have not. Our observation confirms this. Whatever decisions the Assembly makes, there is little doubt that this issue will continue to be a matter of contention. ... F. What kind of dialogue? 1. We recognise three different stances Christians take on the issue of homosexuality; there is no neutral stance. a. *The personal stance.* The discussion is not about an abstraction called homosexuality but about living human beings who happen to have same-gender orientation. They may be members of our family, a friend, a fellow-Christian, or our very self. A heartfelt meeting, without the distance engendered by "issue debate" influences how we think about gays and lesbians. b. *The justice stance* comes from a perception that homosexual people are often the victims of social and political oppression. The oppressed are finding their voice and are joined by those with a passion for justice, often biblically based. Their cry is against systems and institutions that seem to deny due rights for minority groups. It is easy for this to degenerate into a confrontational response, in which there is little room for discussion, mutual understanding, or respect. c. *The moral stance* rests on the conviction that there are certain norms that humankind must abide by for its survival and salvation. The moral vision, also often biblically based, has captured the hearts and minds of Christian people for centuries, and must not be given away easily, if at all. 2. The best representatives of all sides of the argument will, in varying ways, combine all three concerns. They care about people, seek justice, and have moral vision. Depending on our emotional investment in any one stance, we will make our varying contribution to the well-being of the Body of Christ. The worst representatives of all sides come with unexamined, unread, non- prayed-over closedness. One person said in the dialogue group, "Many people say, 'We know what we believe, so we won't talk or study.'" 3. The dialogue groups at the 1994 General Assembly gave a faint glimmer of what is possible when people of different stances speak together. Consider the effect of these statements from the dialogue groups: * "The issues paper reflects the concepts people have of gay and lesbian people, but not the concepts gays and lesbians hold themselves. We must talk together." * "We must stop questioning the integrity of people." * "I love you, but I don't love what you do" -- "How do you know what I do?" * "We have a selective inclusiveness -- a passion for our own thing, but we can't transfer that passion; we are familiar with our own comfort zones but we can't go into the uncomfortable. The left is uncomfortable with the right and vice versa." * "The question is far beyond 'homosexuals are bad and heterosexuals are good'; that is not the way to go." 4. It behooves us all to become very careful in our conversations. We have all been affected by the sexual revolution of our generation. One cycle of that revolution has produced a morbid fascination with all things sexual, obscuring the gentle, affectional companionships of our fellow human beings. We become overwhelmed by a fear of where it all leads, and in the end perfect fear drives out love. Our Scriptures are used to express our worst fears; our greatest hopes as expressed by Scripture remain unspoken. In our conversations we must go to the heart of what is good and commendable in relationship, and support and encourage that. G. The mood of the church Said one person in a dialogue group: "We have got ourselves into an extraordinary position." What do we do when we find ourselves in this extraordinary state of affairs? |The 1994 General Assembly heard three reminders of God's intervention where only two alternatives seemed possible: 1. On the shore of the Red Sea the people of Israel perceived the choice: drown, or die at the hands of the Egyptian Army. The third way opened up. 2. Joseph discovered his betrothed was pregnant. He had two alternatives: have Mary stoned, or to dismiss her quietly. God intervenes with a third unthinkable option: marry her. 3. Peter, on the eve of his meeting Cornelius, saw in the vision: starve, or eat the unclean. God intervened with new perceptions offered. ... It depends on our trust in Christ to reveal the third way; when the Body is in a state of indecision, we step back and wait for the new to emerge. We do not follow those who are paralysed by fear, nor those who know too much, are too certain, and are paralysed by excessive smugness. No future will emerge from either quarter. The future will be inextricably bound up with our willingness to trust Christ -- a precarious stance. The mood we sense in those who discern we have a future is to back off, postpone, allow time for new experience to emerge, room for new conversations to take place, prayer for new revelation. Perhaps the cumulative experience of inter-action, genuine dialogue, continuing prayer, searching of Scripture, and invoking God's Spirit will help us more than the current passionate debate. H. Winners or losers -- division or diversity? 1. It is quite clear that if a vote were taken in the church now, a sizable minority would lose, whichever way the vote went. A question the conveners asked of the dialogue groups was, "... in that event, what would you do with the losing side?" Most often the question was greeted with silence -- not the silence of ignorance, but the awesome enormity of what we would do to our Christian sister, our Christian brother. Is that what we want? A few say, "Yes." Most search for a new way. ... 3. Some wish to place the whole discussion under the umbrella of "the authority of Scriptures." If that were the sole criterion, it would be clean, efficient, straightforward, clear, cut and dried. Or would it? We have, in Church and culture, abandoned much scriptural teaching and/or practice surrounding sexuality -- polygamy, levirate marriage (the obligation to marry one's deceased brother's wife), Paul's exaltation of celibacy, attitudes toward menstruation. The widespread use of contraception and the problems of global over-population have altered attitudes to the scriptural exhortation to "be fruitful and multiply." Some see this as an attack on the authority of Scripture, and an implication that those who seek a fresh revelation of the mind of Christ have abandoned their vows to uphold the standards of our church. Again, those who genuinely uphold the high value of Scripture in our church's life are often accused of obscurantism, of failure to live in the real world, of blind adherence to letter and law without heart. We are not ready, as a body of God's people, to make a final decision. We may never be. Individually maybe, but as a body, no. And since we are covenanted together, as a body, around our crucified and risen Lord, our pain-bearing and victorious Christ, we wait for clarity. In the meantime, -- and it may be a long meantime -- we require local congregations to do what they have always done: vote for the minister or elder of their choice. It has always been true, that only when a minister or elder senses that he or she has overwhelming support in a congregation can mission and ministry in that local church be joyfully pursued. The relationships between all elders and people are, ideally, close and intimate. It seems wise to trust the congregation to determine who is to be ordained. Only when leaders and people alike know what they are doing, and are happy to work together, can their experience in mission be the best. I. What we are recommending We are bringing recommendations to the Assembly. They have not been arrived at lightly, but after a great many hours of earnest and open discussion in an atmosphere of prayer and mutual acceptance. They are not necessarily the recommendations that individual members of the committee would have wished to support. Other things being equal, some of us would have wished the Assembly to declare clearly that homosexual behaviour is not of itself sinful, as heterosexual behaviour is not of itself sinful, and to declare that there is no bar to gay and lesbian people as such filling leadership positions in the church, including ordination to eldership and to the ministry of word and sacraments. Other things being equal, some of us would have wished the Assembly to re-affirm the declaration of the 1985 Assembly that homosexual acts are sinful, and to re-affirm also the decision of the 1991 Assembly, declaring God's intention for sexual relationships, offering compassion and the Gospel of grace, forgiveness, and restoration to those who fall short of that intention, and affirming that those who continue in sexual acts outside the context of heterosexual marriage are not appropriate persons to be in leadership in this church. Others on the committee would for various reasons not wish to recommend that the Assembly take either of the above actions. But other things are not equal. Within the committee we profoundly respect the Christian integrity of those whose convictions on this subject are at variance from our own. With a sense of the heavy responsibility laid upon us we bring recommendations *from the committee.* They embody what we believe is best for the whole church at this time. It is the view of this committee that the church ought not to legislate on the admission of homosexual people to positions of leadership in the church. We draw this conclusion on a number of grounds: 1. Such legislation is unnecessary. The committee has heard no allegations that homosexual people in leadership positions have caused, or been the occasion of offence, difficulty, or scandal. There already exists adequate provision in the law and practice of the church for presbyteries/union district councils and sessions/parish councils to ensure the suitability of candidates for positions of leadership. There is full opportunity for those who have objections to the life or doctrine of any candidate for ordination or induction to have these objections considered by the ordaining court before it proceeds. And where difficulties arise in an existing situation, provision is made in the practice of the church for the situation to be addressed. ... 2. Such legislation, whether its effect were either to exclude homosexual people from leadership in the church, or to forbid discrimination against such people, would cause deep pain to many people of undoubted Christian faith who are loyal and devoted members and leaders in the church. 3. Legislation, either explicitly opening all leadership positions in the church to "self-avowed practising homosexual" people, or excluding such people from leadership positions, would introduce a winner/loser situation which would not be a helpful atmosphere for the dialogue which (whatever decisions are made) must continue after the 1995 Assembly. 4. Legislation requires careful definition of terms. The definition of "homosexual practice" may not be as straightforward as many imagine. The attempt at such a definition may be a road to legalism where grace needs to abound. Such legalism is foreign to the Gospel. The singling out of homosexual acts as "sinful" is inappropriate, in that much heterosexual practice might also be described as sinful. 5. Legislation could be tragically divisive. There has already been speculation about whether the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand will be split by the homosexual issues. It is not the opinion of the committee that division is to be avoided no matter how high the price. Nor is fear of division the main reason for us to recommend against legislation. We do believe that it would be tragic folly for the church to bring itself to the probability of division by enacting legislation that on other grounds we believe to be undesirable and unnecessary. 6. The church is not in a position to legislate unequivocally on this issue. The Assembly might make a majority decision to legislate one way or another, but all the evidence indicates that a substantial minority would oppose the decision, some out of deep conviction. The committee believes that in such a situation the Assembly cannot with integrity make binding decisions at this time. 7. Discriminatory legislation may compromise the inclusiveness of the Christian Gospel. See Section K, paragraph 4. J. Concern for one another We are aware that our recommendation against legislation will disappoint many. The Assembly needs to recognise and acknowledge its pastoral responsibility to such people. 1. It will disappoint those who are anxious that the church clearly reject any kind of discrimination against gay and lesbian people. In particular it will disappoint gay and lesbian people, especially those who hold or are offering for [applying for] leadership positions in the church, and who had hoped for explicit affirmation from the church. We believe the Assembly should remind such people that there is a significant number of people and courts within the church who have expressed sincere and profound unease about gays and lesbians having a place in the church, and ask them to respect those who sincerely hold views from which they strongly dissent, views which they see as condemning them. 2. It will disappoint those who are anxious that the church declare unequivocally that those who practise homosexual acts are not suitable people to hold office in the church. We believe that the Assembly should remind such people that there is a significant number of people and courts within the church who have a sincere and profound conviction that there should be no discrimination in the church against self-avowed practising homosexuals, and ask them to respect those who sincerely hold views from which they strongly dissent. K. Other matters There are other things we wish to say to the Assembly. 1. The topic will not go away after the Assembly, nor the differences. Some people on both sides have said that the Church ought to concentrate its energies not on this topic, but on matters that are vastly more important, and in particular on its mission in the world. The committee endorses this view, but at the same time it is aware that there are people who will always be affected personally and deeply by this issue, and the church must not try to escape its challenge. 2. We are a multi-cultural church. Different cultures do not necessarily look at moral issues in the same way. We believe from our discussions that there are different attitudes to homosexuality within each of the various cultures represented in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, as there are within the church as a whole. Cultural sensitivities need to be respected in dealing with this issue. 3. It has been suggested to us that congregations might be willing to accept gay, lesbian, and bisexual people as full members, but would not admit them to leadership positions. This needs closer examination. While it is accepted that proposed leaders in the church need to be tested *as to the appropriateness of their gifts and abilities for the position,* what basis is there for debarring people from leadership but not from membership on *moral grounds?* There is a suggestion of a double standard here which is disturbing. 4. Some of those who advocate admission of gays and lesbians to leadership do so on the grounds of *inclusiveness.* Some of them have urged us to undertake a study of the theology of inclusiveness. While we recognise the relevance of such a study to the task given us, and some of our members showed interest in the suggestion, we have not been able to undertake such a study at any depth. Some in the church might pursue the subject with benefit. 5. Any exhaustive study of homosexuality needs to be undertaken in the context of human sexuality as a whole. A group of gays and lesbians who saw the section of the issues paper headed *The Origins of Homosexuality* asked why we had not also enquired into the origins of heterosexuality. They were only partly joking. The issues paper and this report mention the sexual revolution of recent decades. A study of Christianity and human sexuality, including a Christian response to the sexual revolution has long been needed. In this connection we draw attention to *Living in Covenant with God and with One Another -- A Guide to the Study of Sexuality and Human Relationships*, by Robin Smith, prepared for the World Council of Churches. ... -- Lawrie Hampton, David Grant, Co-Conveners * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BOOKS TO WATCH OUT FOR Unrepentant, Self-Affirming, Practicing: Lesbian/Bisexual/Gay People within Organized Religion, by Gary D. Comstock. 336 pp. 0-8264-0881-8, $29.50 hardcover, Continuum Press, March, 1996. Reviewed by Merrill Proudfoot. If Jim Anderson, tireless editor, circulation manager and mailroom supervisor of *More Light Update*, ever looks up from a bundle of still-damp copies to wonder, "Does anyone ever *read* this publication?" we now have the answer: Gary Comstock read every issue from 1988 to 1993 as part of his empirical study which informs this book. And it shows. Names of PLGC members past and present keep popping up. (A reason to buy the book: Maybe yours is there.) One of the greatest benefits I got from the book was the recognition of what a treasure we have had in *More Light Update*, providing not only a microphone for gay and lesbian Presbyterians, but a running history of our struggle with the church. For example, on the crucial question of "To stay or not to stay," Comstock quotes Bet Hannon, who left for the United Church of Christ after being refused Presbyterian ordination: "It has become clear to me ... how much my relationship to the PCUSA was an abusive relationship." Diane Vezmar-Bailey, on the other hand, decided to come out as a bisexual, relinquishing her ordained status in the Presbyterian Church, and "with the hope that the church will change its policy," joined a More Light congregation. And Chris Glaser is quoted as arguing that "leaving is not an option, because we *are* the church". Comstock's book is a compendium of empirical studies of the experiences of gay people in their faith communities. He abstracts from the findings of twenty-six previous "religion- focused" studies (including one by our own Laurence Reh, which was published by *More Light Update* in its issue of September, 1989), plus ten broader surveys which include religious data. He adds to these his own empirical study. It utilizes questionnaires returned by 289 lay and clergy members of the United Church of Christ and 199 United Methodist Church members. The respondents represent persons on the mailing lists of the gay and lesbian newsletters of the two denominations. (While Presbyterians were not included in the survey, one suspects that our responses would not have been far different from those of United Methodists, since our level of acceptance by the denomination is about the same.) These surveys are supplemented by in-depth interviews with ten respondents from each list, and the screening of the newsletters of eleven gay religious organizations. The studies are not presented in tandem; rather Comstock culls from them to fill out his topical outline on such subjects as switching denominations, seminary and ordination experiences, theology. If you want Comstock's own study in its entirety, you will have to write to him at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he teaches in the Department of Religion. It's my hunch that gay persons who have been active in their religious bodies will not gain much new information from Comstock's book, as admirably complete as it is, as scholarly as it is (57 pages of notes). What the book gives us is empirical verification of the knowledge we already have from within. The major beneficiaries of the book will be those outside who seek to know us. It will make an excellent text for classes, particularly in seminaries. And of course every library ought to have it. It makes available under one cover the principal results of all significant research that has been done on the experience of lesbian and gay people with religious bodies. The book is not bedtime reading, but the stories and comments of persons interviewed and those reported in the newsletters are often interesting. Many will find these of more value than the generalizations drawn from the questionnaires, which are frequently banal. For example, "Identifying openly as lesbian, bisexual, or gay may have reduced opportunities for participation in established leadership roles and positions." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * We Were Baptized Too: A Review and a Foreward Some weeks ago, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu's POWERFUL Foreword for the "yet to be published" book, *We Were Baptized Too: Claiming God's Grace for Lesbians and Gays* (by Marilyn Bennett Alexander and James Preston) was shared in a number of PresbyNet meetings. It really was a marvelous, supportive, prophetic statement. My reaction was, "I hope the book is as good as his Foreword." However, having known Desmond Tutu for many years, I was sure he was not writing just a publicity blurb. Now the book is out (Westminster/John Knox Press $16.99) and was worth the wait. For me, the insightful way the authors linked our baptism to our place in the church, the vows of the congregation at our baptism, and their role in our spiritual growth was a new idea. It shouldn't have been new, but I had failed to make the link that the authors, Marilyn Bennett Alexander and James Preston, have done so powerfully. With true life stories and theological insights, the authors affirm in many different ways how "Faithful Christians are called to run along the sides of a homophobic church full of hatred and remember the covenant the church made at the baptisms of hundreds of thousands. They must remember the grace and justice conveyed by Holy Communion. ... Christians must hear the cries of gays and lesbians and respond with justice and grace. They must confess the sin of silencing present in the Church and lead the faith community toward a path of prophetic existence. The Church can really do no less if it is to truly be the sacramental body of Christ." For the bold and brave among our churches, there is a proposed Congregational Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant, A Celebration of Coming Out, and A Ritual of Self-Renewal. These brief forms can also be used individually, which I have done and found helpful in a very personal way. Read and be strengthened by the strong affirmation of our Baptism, share this book with your pastor and church officers and, what is more difficult, find ways to help them read it too. This may be the greatest gift of Bishop Tutu's Foreword, to encourage the reader to take the book seriously, as we take our baptismal vows with the utmost seriousness when we gather around the Lord's table for the breaking of bread and the sharing of the cup. P.S. I have been spending too many hours on planes lately. However, it is great for reading. I would also highly recommend Melanie Morrison's book "The Grace of Coming Home: Spirituality, Sexuality, & the Struggle for Justice." Melanie Morrison has written for many publications and in this compendium of her writings, she celebrates her lesbian and Christian identities. This book is not just for those who are lesbian but for all persons concerned with justice and liberation in the context of a deep spirituality. (Pilgrim Press, $10.95) Bishop Tutu's Foreword What a poignant testimony this book turns out to be. It is a *cri de coeur* from the hearts of persons we have first accepted as baptized fellow Christians, members together with us in the body of this Jesus Christ, wherein as a result of that baptism there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, free nor slave -- there is a radical equality. And then we spurn them, we shun them, because we are all caught up in an acknowledged or a tacit homophobia and heterosexism. We reject them, treat them as pariahs, and push them outside the confines of our church communities, and thereby we negate the consequences of their baptism and ours. We make them doubt that they are the children of God, and this must be nearly the ultimate blasphemy. We blame them for something that is becoming increasingly clear they can do little about. Someone has said that if this particular sexual orientation were indeed a matter of personal choice, then gay and lesbian persons must be the craziest coots around to choose a way of life that exposes them to so much hostility, discrimination, loss and suffering. To say this is akin to saying that a black person voluntarily chooses a complexion and race that exposes him- or herself to all the hatred, suffering and disadvantages to be found in a raciest society. Such a person would be stark raving mad. This book contains a serious indictment of our quite uncomfortable position regarding homosexuality. It is only of homosexual persons that we require universal celibacy, whereas for others we teach that celibacy is a special vocation. We say that sexual orientation is morally a matter of indifference, but what is culpable are homosexual acts. But then we claim that sexuality is a divine gift, which used properly, helps us to become more fully human and akin really to God, as it is this part of our humanity that makes us more gentle and caring, more self-giving and concerned for others than we would be without that gift. Why should we want all homosexual persons not to give expression to their sexuality in loving acts? Why don't we use the same criteria to judge same-sex relationships that we use to judge whether heterosexual relationships are wholesome or not? I was left deeply disturbed by these inconsistencies and knew that the Lord of the Church would not be where his church is in this matter. Can we act quickly to let the gospel imperatives prevail as we remember our baptism and theirs? Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop of Capetown * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Caught in the Crossfire [This review didn't make it into the print version!] Caught in the Crossfire: Helping Christians Debate Homosexuality. Sally B. Geis & Donald E. Messer, editors; Abingdon Press, 1994. 206 pp. $12.95 (paperback). ISBN 0-687- 09524-7. Reviewed by Merrill Proudfoot. Hold on to your seats, folks, here comes another of those "debate" books! Jud van Gorder reviewed the Presbyterian engendered *Homosexuality in the Church: Both Sides of the Debate* in the August Update. Now we have the Methodist version. The two books are so alike that many folks will think they have the one when they really have the other. And it won't matter -- much. As a loyal Presbyterian (Aren't we all?) I'm pleased to be able to give a slight edge to *Homosexuality in the Church*, and I'll reveal why in a minute But there are more important things to say about these books. The first is to bemoan the fact that the Church is buying into the model which has become almost obligatory on TV, of "Michael Kingsley on the left -- And John Sununu on the right." Take any issue, there are only two positions on it, and they are diametrically opposed to one another. What we are called to do is not to discuss the issues, but to debate them. There is no point in discussing them, apparently, because there is no in- between ground, and no one ever changes his/her/its mind. *Caught in the Crossfire* -- an instant reminder of Sununu and Kingsley -- *Helping Christians Debate Homosexuality*: The expectation this title lays upon the authors and the invitation it issues to the readers are about as objectionable as could be. Maybe we can forgive Abingdon, because Methodists haven't been asked to engage in dialogue. But it's hard to forgive Westminster/John Knox for inviting us to a debate. It was dialogue and study, not debate, that the General Assemblies of 1993 and 1995 asked us to do. Which brings us to the question of how these books are going to be used. Some of the articles are better than the titles or format would require. (The "Presbyterian" volume seems to have been more concerned to choose "relatively moderate perspectives," as the editor affirms.) It's possible to imagine a bunch of nice Methodists or Presbyterians reading the pro and con articles of a given chapter, sitting down together, and showing the good sense to knock off the sharp edges of the more extreme pieces while they grope together toward a common position in which justice, love and purity all get their due. But's that the hard way. "I, Paul, show you a more excellent way." Get the testimonies first-hand from live human beings. The biggest deficiency in both these volumes is that we don't hear persons telling their own stories. (An exception is Virginia Ramey Mollenkott in the W/JK book.) We don't even have "ex-gays" telling their stories. If there is any hope for finding a resolution of this issue that all can live with, it is by talking with, not about one another. There's no need for you to have to rely on written resources. Look at all those names on the back of this Update, most of them itching to tell their stories. And if they can't do it, they'll help you find someone who can. As for Biblical interpretation, it's a poor presbytery that can't come up with two ministers who approach this subject with different principles of Biblical interpretation. The scientific stuff you can ignore, because as the pieces in these two books demonstrate, the hard sciences don't have anything important to contribute to our dialogue. Psychology does; contact the Psychology Department of your university or a practicing therapist. Another type resource we in our presbytery are finding useful is representatives of churches which have already gone through a dialogue and reached some resolution. In our city, one is Methodist and one is Southern Baptist, believe it or not. One of these articles speaks to our present situation as none other does. That is the piece by Jack Rogers in the W/JK volume. Observing that the Church is not ready theologically or socially for a fundamental solution, and that for either side to push one through in 1996 would be hurtful to the church, he calls for "an interim strategy that will allow us to live together while we learn more." He suggests, "Following the traditional policy of affirming community norms while granting individual exceptions could provide such a possibility." I, for one, hope Dr. Rogers is talking with other respected figures in the church along these lines. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Time to Vote It's time for members of PLGC to vote for their leaders. It's a sign of our health and vitality that we have an abundance of super folks running for our board. It's up to you to choose who can best serve you and the church during the coming two years. To be eligible to vote, you need to have joined or renewed your membership for 1996. All new memberships and renewals submitted since June of 1995 are considered 1996 memberships. If you have not yet joined or renewed for 1996, use the membership form below. Most of this year's nominations are offered by your Nominating Committee: Jim Beates, Edward L. Blanton, Doug Calderwood (chair), Kathryn Cartledge, and Martha Juillerat. They deserve your thanks, which you can indicate by voting! Other nominees, noted with an asterisk on the ballot (*), were nominated at the PLGC Midwestern Midwinter Conference. The ballot, or a copy, must be received by June 22, 1996. Send to: James D. Anderson, Communications Secretary, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038. Your name and address must be clearly written on the outside envelope. As soon as eligibility is verified, the ballot will be separated from the envelope before being counted. PLGC Is Your Ministry Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns is an organization of ministers, elders, deacons, and members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) committed to the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, their families and friends in the Church and in society; proclamation of the liberating and inclusive gospel of Jesus Christ to all people; reconciliation among all Presbyterians; and education and dialogue that nurtures our biblical, theological, confessional, spiritual and personal development as individuals and as a Church. Together, we strive to ensure full membership and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered members in both church and society; offer care, affirmation and support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people, their families and friends; study and raise the concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people; and witness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that the church of Jesus Christ is the church of all God's people. Join Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns by sending us your name, address, name of your home congregation or presbytery, and tax-deductible contribution ($50 per year or whatever you can afford). Contributions to PLGC ought not displace or be a substitute for support of the local and general mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) -- especially for those parts of the Church that welcome the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, such as More Light Churches. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Membership Application/Renewal Form for 1996 PLGC, c/o James D. Anderson P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038 Name_______________________________________Date_____________________ Address_____________________________________________________________ Telephone___________________________________________________________ Home congregation / Presbytery______________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ I enclose $_______ to support the work, ministry and witness of PLGC. ___Please enroll or renew me as a member of PLGC. ___I am not a Presbyterian, but I want to support the work, ministry and witness of PLGC. Please enroll or renew me as a PLGC Associate. PLGC's membership rolls and mailing lists are confidential and are not shared with anyone except officers of PLGC. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1996 PLGC Ballot Male Co-Moderator -- 2 year term, vote for 1. ____Scott Anderson, Sacramento, CA. Scott, PLGC board member, has been our chief strategist in recent years and has led our Unity Through Diversity dialogue project, preparing for the Albuquerque General Assembly. After being "outed" as pastor of a 400-member congregation, he became the associate director of the California Council of Churches. ____Other:_______________________________________________________ Female Executive Board Members -- 2 year terms, vote for 2. ____Kristin Bogren*, Bloomington, IN. A life-long Presbyterian, Kristin is a member of our Central Indiana chapter and also of her presbytery's task force on "Homosexual Persons and Ordination." She has spoken on dialogue panels in several presbyteries. She works with persons with disabilities and teaches stress management. ____Lisa Furr, Richmond, VA. Lisa has been our hostess in the PLGC suite at recent General Assemblies and is on the Unity Through Diversity team. With a master's degree in Christian Education, she worked professionally in the church for 10 years, before coming out. Now she's a travel agent. For two years she convened our Richmond chapter. Outgoing board member Dorothy Fillmore is her partner. ____Elaine Hinnant, Cuba, NM. Currently serving a mission church in a small NM town, Elaine was a pastor in PA, where she served on presbytery peacemaking and justice for women committees, and worked in admissions at Princeton Seminary, where she graduated in 1989. She's working on a second masters in art education at the University of New Mexico. ____Susan Leo, Portland, OR. An out lesbian candidate for the ministry under care of the Presbytery of the Cascades, Susan currently works for the ACLU. She's a life-long community organizer, with extensive experience as board member and employee of non-profit organizations. She chairs the LGBT pride celebration committee in Portland and sits on the national council of CLOUT: Christian Lesbians Out Together. ____Others:______________________________________________________ Male Executive Board Members -- 2 year terms, vote for 4 (1 to fill the unexpired term of Scott Anderson). ____Henry Hanson, Swannanoa, NC. A graduate of Davidson College and Union Seminary in Richmond, Henry served pastorates in VA, SC, and FL. He began the coming out process in 1982 and took early retirement in 1984. He chairs the Asheville Religious Network for G&L Equality, which has brought folks like Janie Spahr, Mel White, and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott to speak. He has two children. ____David Hooker, Chicago, IL. Co-moderator of PLGC/Chicago, deacon and elder at 4th Pres. Chicago, commissioner to presbytery, member of the presbytery Task Force on Homosexuality, David recently retired after 35 years with International Harvester, where he was a computer expert. He and his partner just celebrated 20 years together. ____Gene Huff*, Indianapolis, IN. A retired minister and former presbytery executive in L.A. and OH, Gene is secretary and co- founder (with Howard Warren) of our Central Indiana Chapter -- he was a primary organizer of our recent midwinter conference there. He has published articles for the current dialogue in *Monday Morning* and the *Presbyterian Outlook* and helped get McCormick Seminary to sponsor its churchwide conference of Bible scholars to discuss LG ordination. ____Bill Moss*, Washington, DC. Co-moderator of our Washington, DC chapter and a PLGC co-coordinator for the Synod of Mid- Atlantic, Bill also serves on the session of Westminster Presby. Church, one of our early More Light congregations. A former high school history teacher, he now works for the Internal Revenue Service as Director of its Information Technology Division. ____Michael Purintun, Louisville, KY. A graduate of Louisville Seminary, Michael is a current PLGC board member, PLGC's coordinator for the Synod of Living Waters, and helps match jobs and job-seekers through "PLGC Postings." He's on the session of Central Pres., a More Light Church, and serves on the presbytery's dialogue committee. ____Woody Smallwood, Baltimore, MD. After helping with local arrangements for last year's biggest yet More Light Churches conference (with his partner, PLGC treasurer Lew Myrick), Woody became co-moderator of Baltimore PLGC. He puts out the chapter newsletter (print and electronic), and staffs the PLGC information table at presbytery meetings. He was a Names Quilt monitor at the 1991 Baltimore General Assembly. He will finish an MBA program in May. ____Mike Smith, Grinnell, IA. Pastor of 1st Presbyterian Church in Grinnell, Mike is currently on the PLGC board and is preparing our last pre-General Assembly fundraising letter (watch for it!). He is a forceful advocate for lesbigay liberation and other justice issues in the church. He is married to Sylvia Thorson Smith. ____Others:______________________________________________________ Nominating Committee (vote for five) ____Lisa Bove, Los Angeles, CA, former Co-Moderator of PLGC, is a leader of Presbyterian Act-Up. ____Jim Earhart, Atlanta, GA, PLGC's recording secretary, is retiring from the PLGC board after many years of service. ____Dorothy Fillmore, Richmond, VA, PLGC's new co-coordinator for PresbyNet, is also leaving our board after many years of service. ____Merrill Proudfoot, Kansas City, MO, a PLGC coordinator for the Synod of Mid-America, is an *Update* book reviewer and our roving reporter, covering General Assembly Council meetings. ____Others:______________________________________________________ *Nominated at the PLGC Midwestern Midwinter Conference * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PLGC OFFICERS AND CONTACTS CO-MODERATORS: Laurene Lafontaine, 1260 York St. #106, Denver, CO 80206, 303/388-0628, PNet: Laurene Lafontaine; internet: EClaurene@aol.com; Robert Patenaude, 3346 Hollydale Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90039, 213/660-6795. COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY: James D. Anderson, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038, 908/249-1016, 908/932-7501 (Rutgers Univ.), FAX 908/932-6916 (Rutgers Univ.), email: jda@scils.rutgers.edu. RECORDING SECRETARY: Jim Earhart, P.O. Box 8362, Atlanta, GA 31106, 404/373-5830 TREASURER: Lew Myrick, 1225 Southview Rd., Baltimore, MD 21218- 1454, 410-467-1191, 410-516-8100 work, FAX 410-516-4484 work, email: myrick@jhuadig.admin.jhu.edu PLGC Coordinators & Laisons ISSUES: Scott Anderson -- see Exec. Board. UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY: Rev. Deana Reed, 1816 Kilbourne Pl. NW, Washington, DC 20010, 202-462-2184, fax 202-667-1734. JUDICIAL ISSUES: Tony De La Rosa, 5850 Benner St., #302, Los Angeles, 90042, 213-266-2690 wk, -2695 fax, 213-256-2787 hm; Peter Oddleifson, Harris Beach and Wilcox, 130 E. Main St., Rochester, NY 14604, 716/232-4440 wk, -1573 fax. PRESBYNET: Dorothy Fillmore (see exec. board); Bill Capel, 123-R W. Church St., Champaign, IL 61820-3510, 217/355-9825, PNet: BILL CAPEL, internet: bill_capel.parti @ecunet.org NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Doug Calderwood, Chair, P.O. Box 57, Cedar Crest, NM 87008, 505-281-0073. PRISON MINISTRIES: Doug Elliott -- see Southern California. PLGC POSTINGS -- Positions Referral Service: Michael Purintun, 522 Belgravia Ct. Apt. 2, Louisville, KY 40208, 502/637-4734. LIAISON TO PRESBYTERIAN AIDS NETWORK (PAN): John M. Trompen, 48 Lakeview Dr., Morris Plains, NJ 07950-1950 LIAISONS TO PRESBYTERIAN ACT-UP: Louise Thompson (see exec. board); Lisa Bove, 7350 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90046, 213/874-6646; Howard Warren, Jr., 2807 Somerset Bay, Indianapolis, IN 46240, 317/632-0123 (Damien Center), 317/253- 2377 (home). LIAISON TO MORE LIGHT CHURCHES NETWORK: Tammy Lindahl (see exec. board). EUROPE: Jack Huizenga,Voice of America, 74 Shoe Lane, London 4C4A 3JB, United Kingdom, (171) 410-0960, preceded by 011-44 if calling from the U.S. ALASKA-NORTHWEST (AK, WA, No. ID): Richard Gibson, 4700 228th St., SW, Mount Lake Terrace, WA 98043, 206/778-7227. COVENANT (MI, OH): Rev. James J. Beates, 18120 Lahser Rd. #1, Detroit, MI 48219, 313-255-7059. LAKES AND PRAIRIES (IA, MN, ND, NE, SD, WI): Cleve Evans, 3810 S. 13th St., #22, Omaha, NE 68107-2260, 402/733-1360. LINCOLN TRAILS (IL, IN): Mark Palermo, 6171 North Sheridan Road, Apt. 2701, Chicago IL 60660-2858, 312/338-0452. LIVING WATERS (KY, TN, MS, AL): Jimmy Smith, 212 Cedar Pointe Pky., Antioch, TN 37013-3732, email jimmy722@aol. com; Michael Purintun -- see PLGC Postings. MID-AMERICA (MO, KS): Merrill Proudfoot, 3315 Gillham Road, #2N,Kansas City, MO 64109, 816/531-2136. MID-ATLANTIC (DE, DC, MD, NC, VA): William H. Moss (Bill), 1327 Emerald St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5431, 202-397-5585; Elizabeth Hill, 8605 Warrenton Dr., Richmond, VA 23229, 804/741- 2982, PresbyNet LISA FURR; Brent Bissette, 223 Riverwalk Cir., Cary, NC 27511, 919-467-5747. NORTHEAST (NJ, NY, New England): Sally Witherell, 28 9th St., #403, Medford, MA 02155-5140, 617-625-4823 (Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church); Gary Ireland, 10 Winter St., Montpelier, VT 05602, 802/229-5438; John Hartwein-Sanchez, 23 Sherman St., #2, New London, CT 06320, 203/442-5138; Charlie Mitchell, 56 Perry St., Apt. 3-R, New York, NY 10014, 212/691-7118; Amy Jo Remmerle, P.O. Box 34, Amherst, NY 14226, 716/626-0734; Kay Wroblewski, 74 Freemont Rd., Rochester, NY 14612, 716/663-9130. PACIFIC (No. CA, OR, NV, So. ID): Richard A. Sprott, 3900 Harrison #301, Oakland, CA 94611, 510/653-2134, email: sprott @cogsci .berkeley.edu; Dick Hasbany, 4025 Dillard Rd., Eugene, OR 97405, 503/345-4720. ROCKY MOUNTAINS (CO, MT, NE Panhandle, UT, WY): Laurene Lafontaine -- see Executive Board. SOUTH ATLANTIC (FL, GA, SC): Jim Earhart -- see Recording Secy; Laurie Kraus, 5275 Sunset Dr., Miami, FL 33143, 305/666-8586. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII: Doug Elliott, 1232 Dell Drive, Monterey Park, CA 91754, 213/262-8019. SOUTHWEST (AZ, NM): Linda Manwarren, 7720 Browning Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109-5303, 505-858-0249; Rosemarie Wallace, 710 W. Los Lagos Vista Ave., Mesa, AZ 85210, 602/892-5255. SUN (AR, LA, OK, TX): Greg Adams, 314 Steven Dr., Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-224-4724; John P. McNeese, P.O. Box 54606, Oklahoma City, OK 73154-1606, 405-848-2819, 405-232-6991 wk; Jay Kleine, 8818 Wightman Dr., Austin, TX 78754, 512/928-4063, 331-7088 work. TRINITY (PA, WV): Rob Cummings, PO Box 394, Jackson Center, PA 16133-0394, 412-475-3285; Eleanor Green, P.O. Box 6296, Lancaster, PA 17603, 717/397-9068; Jim Ebbenga & Kurt Wieser, P.O. Box 1207, Landsdale, PA 19446, 215/699-4750. PLGC Executive Board Scott D. Anderson (1997), 5805 20th Ave., Sacramento, CA 95820- 3107, 916/456-7225, 442-5447 (work) Lindsay Biddle (1997), 3538 - 22nd Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55407, 612/724-5429, PNet: Lindsay Biddle, internet: lindsay_biddle.parti@ecunet.org Lisa Larges (1997), 426 Fair Oaks, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415/648-0547 Tammy Lindahl (1997) 6146 Locust St., Kansas City, MO 64110, 816/822-8577 Tony De La Rosa (1997), 5850 Benner St. #302, Los Angeles, CA 90042, 213-256-2787;Jim Earhart (1996) -- see Recording Secretary Dorothy Fillmore (1996), 7113 Dexter Rd., Richmond, VA 23226- 3729, 804/285-9040 hm, 804/828-2333 wk, PNet: DFILLMORE, internet: dfillmore.parti@ecunet.org (or) dfillmor@cabell. vcu.edu (NO TeU on dfillmor!) Michael Purintun (1996) -- see PLGC Postings Mike Smith (1996), 1211 West St., Grinnell, IA 50112, 515-236- 7955 Louise I. Thompson (1996), 12705 SE River Rd. Apt. 109-S, Portland, OR 97222, 503/652-6508. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MASTHEAD (Publication Information) MORE LIGHT UPDATE, Volume 16, Number 10, May 1996. ISSN 0889- 3985. Published monthly (except for a double June-July issue) by Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns, an organization of Ministers, Elders, Deacons, and Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Elder James D. Anderson, Editor, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038, 908-249-1016, 908-932-7501 (Rutgers University), fax 908-932-6916 (Rutgers University), Internet: jda@mariner.rutgers.edu (or jda@scils.rutgers.edu), 4 Huntington St., Room 316, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1071. PLGC-List: plgc-list@andrew.cmu.edu PLGC home page: http://www.epp.cmu.edu/~riley/PLGC.html Send materials marked "For publication" to the editor. PUBLICATION DEADLINES: 6 weeks prior to issue month. Most material appearing in MORE LIGHT UPDATE is placed in the public domain. With the exception of individual articles that carry their own copyright notice, articles may be freely copied or reprinted. We ask only that MORE LIGHT UPDATE be credited and its address be given for those who might wish to contact us. Suggested annual membership contribution to PLGC: $50.00. Annual subscription (included in membership) to MORE LIGHT UPDATE: $10.00. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *